Silas, 3-time NBA champion, long-time coach, dies at 79
Basketball taught Paul Silas how to be patient.
As a player, he waited 10 years before winning his first championship. As a coach, he waited 15 years for a second chance at running a team. As a father, he waited 20 years before seeing his son get a chance to lead a franchise.
“I always tried to remain positive," Silas said in 2013, “and I think it usually worked out."
Silas — who touched the game as a player, coach and president of the National Basketball Players Association — has died, his family announced Sunday. Silas, whose son, Stephen Silas, is coach of the Houston Rockets, was 79.
“He combined the knowledge developed over nearly 40 years as an NBA player and coach with an innate understanding of how to mix discipline with his never-ending positivity," Charlotte Hornets chairman Michael Jordan said. “On or off the court, Paul's enthusiastic and engaging personality was accompanied by an anecdote for every occasion. He was one of the all-time great people in our game, and he will be missed."
Silas' daughter, Paula Silas-Guy, told The New York Times that her father died Saturday night of cardiac arrest. The Boston Globe first reported Silas' death.
“We mourn the passing of former NBA All-Star and head coach Paul Silas," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “Paul's lasting contributions to the game are seen through the many players and coaches he inspired, including his son, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas. We send our deepest condolences to Paul's family."
Silas began his career as a head coach with a three-year stint leading the thenSan Diego Clippers starting in 1980. After spending more than a decade as an assistant, he returned to being a head coach and spent time with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats.
He took four of those teams to the playoffs, winning exactly 400 games — 387 in the regular season, 13 more in the postseason.
“Paul made a huge contribution to the game of basketball and will be sorely missed!” Hall of Fame guard and Los Angeles Lakers great Magic Johnson wrote on Twitter.
The Rockets were playing host to Milwaukee on Sunday night. It was not immediately clear how long Stephen Silas would be away from the team; the Rockets were planning to have John Lucas lead the team on an interim basis while the Silas family grieves.
“His engaging presence and huge personality inspired legions of NBA players and coaches," the Cavaliers said of Paul Silas in a team-released statement. “We send our deepest condolences to the Silas family and everyone that loved him. Rest in power Coach!"